Ermanno Scervino - a glittering season

"We're beautiful, like diamonds in the sky" sang Rihanna, as the models emerged from the piano nobile of a villa with views onto the Florentine skyline, crystals and sequins glinting from the grey tops and dresses, snug in their fur scarves and collars. The contrasts that brought each look to life were in the materials, ranging from shimmering organdy to solid knitwear, mohair and fur, and in the the design, from severe 1960s Mary Quant to Baroque fluttering pink evening gowns and leopard print, but everything was pulled together by the colours, predominantly light grey and white, with some garments in dark grey-green, grey-blue and pink.

The Swarovski was everywhere, on the day dresses and tops, glittering constellations enhancing bust and waistline, above short pleated skirts. Trousers were cut high at the ankles, to reveal the laced D'Orsay heels. Romantic, feminine softness was combined with elements of tough streetwise looks, such as biker-gear padding sculpted by curving lines of stitching, and inserts of leather and flannel. In some garments, the skin played an important part, its warmth emerging in geometric patterns from intricate open-work. Everything was coordinated, with small bags in leopard print matching scarves and shoes made from the same material. It was all very soft, very wearable. The collection reached its height of beauty in the evening gowns, with a lovely strapless dress in white satin, leaving the back entirely exposed down to the waist, and another fluttering pink dress, a complex composition of dusty pink organdy in which the complexity of the fabric was like the evanescent organic veils of a Portuguese man-o-war.

Amidst the broad volumes of pure colour, the details shone, perfectly-placed accents, such as a narrow silvery metal belt, a mauve python bag, and those scarves, ever-present with their remiscences of classic Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. When Ermanno Scervino stepped out at the end, he acknowledged the applause first on the left of the hall, then the right, as if in a politically-correct reminder of tomorrow's elections for a new Italian government.